Will Chamber stance spur exodus?

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Environmentalists are ratcheting up the pressure on General Electric, Caterpillar and Nike to follow the example of several large utilities and quit the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to protest its stance against climate change legislation.
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POLITICO 44

Environmentalists are ratcheting up the pressure on General Electric, Caterpillar and Nike to follow the example of several large utilities and quit the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to protest its stance against climate change legislation.

All three companies have maintained their membership in the Chamber, the world’s largest business federation, while also belonging to coalitions pushing for climate legislation that would cap greenhouse gas emissions.

The Chamber and the National Association of Manufacturers “are fighting tooth and nail against legislation that would vastly expand the markets for [the three companies’] products,” said Josh Dorner, spokesman for Clean Energy Works, which supports the climate change legislation. “It would be financially smart for them to abandon” the two business groups, he argued.

In the past two weeks, three major utilities have left the Chamber because of the business lobby’s opposition to climate legislation. On Monday, Chicago-based Exelon Corp. said it would not renew its membership in the Chamber; last week, Pacific Gas & Electric, a major California utility, and PNM Resources, a holding company that includes a large New Mexico utility, withdrew from the group.

A large part of the campaign against Chamber membership stems from the group’s call to launch a “Scopes Monkey Trial of the 21st century” about the science of climate change, referring to a 1926 trial that challenged Tennessee law mandating the teaching of the divine creation and forbidding the teaching of evolution.

“We find it dismaying that the Chamber neglects the indisputable fact that a decisive majority of experts have said the data on global warming are compelling and point to a threat that cannot be ignored,” wrote PG&E in a letter to the Chamber. “In our opinion, an intellectually honest argument over the best policy response to the challenges of climate change is one thing; disingenuous attempts to diminish or distort the reality of these challenges are quite another.”

But those utilities, experts note, would benefit financially from the climate change legislation. Exelon, for instance, is one of the country’s largest nuclear power plant operators, and the bill that emerges from the Senate is likely to include greater support for nuclear power, which emits no greenhouse gases.

Nonetheless, environmentalists heralded the utilities’ decision to leave the Chamber as a sign that there are fractures within the business community’s traditional opposition to climate legislation. Now, they’d like to see even larger, more prominent brands leave the group.

“Exelon was a game-changer,” said Anne Kelly, director of governance programs at Ceres, a coalition of investors, environmental groups and other public interest organizations. “There is a mounting pressure [to leave the Chamber] on any major company that is trying to do the responsible thing.”

Climate change legislation faces an uphill battle in the Senate, where coal-state Democrats and Republicans fear the bill could hurt manufacturing and other businesses.

Nike, environmentalists hope, could be the next to leave the Chamber. The company helped found Business for Innovative Climate & Energy Policy, a coalition of businesses supporting congressional action to address climate and energy legislation. Last week, Nike released a statement noting that the company “fundamentally disagrees” with the Chamber’s position on climate change.

On Tuesday, Boston-based Green Century Capital Management Inc, an investment adviser focused on environmentally responsible funds, sent a letter urging Nike to drop its membership in the Chamber.

“As a long-term shareholder of the company, we are dismayed that Nike has not taken a more aggressive stance despite this clear misalignment of its positions with those of the Chamber on climate,” it wrote. “While we understand that companies join trade associations for many reasons, we firmly believe that Nike’s publicly stated positions on climate, founding membership in BICEP and strong sustainability reputation should compel the company to follow PG&E’s and PNM Resources’ lead.”

Environmentalists are ratcheting up the pressure on General Electric, Caterpillar and Nike to follow the example of several large utilities and quit the U.S. Chamber of Commerce to protest its stance against climate change legislation.

Wow, the cap&Trade pork recipients are coming out of the woodwork; guess they can't make money the old fashioned way; by really working for it. MSNBC will be all over this; the marxists will be ecstatic; remember the quote: " your utility bills will necessarily skyrocket". Gee,I wonder who said that?

As a small business owner, I chose not to join the Chamber of Commerce because of the organization's profits-at-any-cost mentality. A focus on the quarterly bottom line is short-sighted and ultimately destructive. My business succeeds because we consider the larger picture, and renewable energy and the environment are part of that picture.

The US Chamber of Commerce has been the leading defender of the status quo. They want "corporatists" and the repug definition of "capitalism" to continue to guide the policies of the this nation. The Chamber has lost its way and certainly is not an organization that is acting in the best interest of its members or the country. Good for the companies that leave its jawls and demonostrate responsible corporate citizenship. If they are responding to their consumers, than good. The message is getting though. We are not going to stand by and let " strong man capitalism" drive a nation that is built upon "democratic capitalism". Reaganomics has failed this nation miserably. The uppers 2% control the wealth equal to the lower 95% is absolutely outrageous!!! The repugs were never able to produce "more for less", or greater efficiencies in governance. In fact, they demolished regulation, let greed and immorality permeate their bureaucracy, and wasted taxpayer dollars. Privatization was taken to extreme and the Halliburtans, blackwaters etc... laughed all the way to the bank. Reaganomics increased poverty, and killed americans through negligence and incompetence. Good for any american company that populates its staffing with people who have moral and ethical standards, that really understand that the decisions they make really do matter in the real world.

"We find it dismaying that the Chamber neglects the indisputable fact that a decisive majority of experts have said the data on global warming are compelling and point to a threat that cannot be ignored,” wrote PG&E in a letter to the Chamber. "

I find it dismaying that this same tripe is still being spewed by the anti consumption crowd..

www.petitionproject.org

It seems that the IPCC, Al Gore and ALL OF THOSE EXPERTS have gotten simple "cause and affect" reversed, since historically the earth has warmed FIRST, then CO2 increases.. but let's instead run around with PIE charts and hockey stick graphs and proclaim disaster.. makes for good power grabs..

"We find it dismaying that the Chamber neglects the indisputable fact that a decisive majority of experts have said the data on global warming are compelling and point to a threat that cannot be ignored,” wrote PG&E in a letter to the Chamber. "

I find it dismaying that this same tripe is still being spewed by the anti consumption crowd..

www.petitionproject.org

It seems that the IPCC, Al Gore and ALL OF THOSE EXPERTS have gotten simple "cause and affect" reversed, since historically the earth has warmed FIRST, then CO2 increases.. but let's instead run around with PIE charts and hockey stick graphs and proclaim disaster.. makes for good power grabs..

www.fatheromalley.com The global warming page should straighten you out on this..

Once cap and trade dies PGE and the others will be back with their hats in their hands.

“We find it dismaying that the Chamber neglects the indisputable fact that a decisive majority of experts have said the data on global warming are compelling and point to a threat that cannot be ignored,” wrote PG&E in a letter to the Chamber.

Really? Not what I've read lately. It appears the whole climate change scam is unraveling.

For every action, there is an equal but opposite reaction. I see the environmental "Nazis" are at it again, doing their best to stop free speech by their bullying everybody that disagrees with them. At least 1/2 to 2/3 of the people of the United States disagree witht he whole climate change premise, at least the part where it is human caused. In truth, the world is actually going through a cooling cycle but do not tell the liberals. The extraordinarily long and hard winter that we experienced last year and the FACT that Al Gore's favorite glacier in Patagonia advanced (grew) by a full 30 feet last year could be seen as a clue, but let's not upset them, lest they tax something else, like ice cream. These environmental "Nazis" are relentless. Did you know that in the state of Texas, it is against the law to wash your car if the water goes into the storm drain? Yup. I found out the hard way. This is how far that these idiot liberals have gone.

They now want to tax sugar, to prevent obesity, tax carbonated water but not bottled water because "they" drink that. They want to tax everything that uses energy, as in virtually everything, with their "cap and trade" con, This whole healthcare reform is a whole new way to tax everyone to grow the government so it can provide the healthcare instead of private insurance. They do not want to drill offshore so we can use our own oil because the price of our oil is so much cheaper. Oh yeh, that's right, they have a federal tax on gas don't they.

All of this time, I thought the reason that we had a government was to defend us and make things better for us. You know if a group gets together, things like power and electricity and food would be cheaper. These people seem like their goal is to make EVERYTHING MORE EXPENSIVE and lower our standard of living. Where did we go wrong???

As a small business owner, I chose not to join the Chamber of Commerce because of the organization's profits-at-any-cost mentality. A focus on the quarterly bottom line is short-sighted and ultimately destructive. My business succeeds because we consider the larger picture, and renewable energy and the environment are part of that picture.

I also own a small business. Very well said. The fact is the Chamber, both nationally and locally, has the right wing extremists, not real people - don't look for these folks to protest or revolt. Look for them to chase the $$. That is all they do.

Meanwhile, real people need a climate change bill, and we need it now! The time for action was the 90s. It is PAST TIME for action.

The Enviormentalist's really need to use less Resources and Recycle Much more...

go...go into the Oceans, walk and keep walking farther, farther out and farther out, feed the little and BIG beasties with your knit wit bodies, do your share for Mother Earth and her Ocean Creatures.

There is NO Global Warming,Eviormental what ever and NEW Kool-Aid LSD Induced Psycho Babble words you come up with.

What in God's name did your parents,uncles,aunts,brothers,sisters,brothers,grandparents,strangers or DOPER college prof's DO to YOU, you could have gone to Law Enforcement and then Therapy. Instead you FORCE your suppressed ABUSE on us in some convoluted self-help therapy.

You are doing more damage than you will ever know, more than ANY POLLUTION ever could!!

Thank God I live in the country, I burn everything, makes me feel Good anyway hahaha :)

"The sky is falling, the sky is falling!" said little Al Gore as he gets a half billion dollar grant from the Obama administration for his foreign electric auto maker. Healthcare Reform that will not improve healthcare and Climate Control that will not control anything except the transfer of money anf power is what we are getting. Lies.